Case or holder for fish-hooks.



No. 786,352. PATENTBD APR. 4, 1905.

H. J. FROST.

CASE 0R HOLDER FOR FISH HOOKS.

un-mums mam mm; 25, 1904.

I l/M58858: INVENTOR Patented April 4, 1905.

PATENT ()EEICE.

HERBERT J. FROST, OF NEW' YORK, N. Y.

CASE OR HOLlDER FOR FISH-HOOKS- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 786,352, dated April 4, 1905. Application filed June 25, 1904. Serial No. 214,104.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, HERBERT J. FRos'r, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York city, Manhattan borough, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cases or Holders for Fish-Hooks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to and has for an object to provide a case or holder for fish-hooks, and is especially adapted for snell-hooks.

In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a top view of a holder made in accordance with the present invention and having some hooks therein and showing the cover portion open. Fig. 2 is an edge view of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top view with the cover closed, and Fig. 4 is an edge view of Fig. 3.

The holder may be made from a sheet-metal blank bent into form, the holder comprising in the present instance a top cover portion 7 and a bottom cover portion 8, which have side portions or valances 9 10, respectively, and the side portions 10 of the bottom member overhang such bottom member, as at 11, thereby forming a holding or retaining device, as it were, for the hooks when the holder is open, thereby maintaining the hooks in position, but permitting their ready inspection for selection and their removal from the holder and permitting the removal of one of the hooks without the material disturbance of the others.

The hooks in some instances may be piled up so that the back portions of the hooks lie under the overhangs and the hook or barb portions remain in the center of the holder. By alternating the'hooks from side to side it will be seen that they will be securely locked in place and but one hook may be removed at a time, the uppermost hook in-the pile, whereby it will be impossible for more than one hookto come out at a time unless the hooks are pushed down through the case and the snell portions all brought into the open region, (designated in a general way by 12.)

The tops and bottoms may be provided with swell portions 13 and 14 to increase the capacity of the holder and also to strengthen the covers. The edges of the walls may be flared, as at 15, to prevent the metal chafing the snells. The hinge portion 16 of the device may be provided with a number of ribs 17, disposed transversely of the lines upon which the hinge will bend, which ribs will when the device is in its closed position be located with their length in the direction of crushing or collapsing pressure and will hold the case or holder from collapsing at the hinge portion even when made of very thin metal. The ribs in the hinge portion are shown as struck up and I impart rigidity to the hinge. The sides of one of the portions as, for instance, the top portion 7-may be cut away, as at 18, to enable the ready grasping of the grasps or grips 19 upon the other portion in the opening of the case, the portion 7 carrying spring or friction fingers 20 to engage the faces 21 on the other portion. To enable such fingers 20 to have the proper degree of springiness, the portion 7 may be made of spring metal.

It will be seen that when it is desired to open the device the grips 19 may be taken between the thumb and finger of one hand and the portions 20 between the thumb and linger of the other hand, and a slight pull will open the device, and the pressure upon the grips 19 will have a tendency to spring the sides 10 inwardly, and thus bring the faces 21 out of engagement with the spring or friction fingers, thus facilitating the opening of the holder.

The ribs 17 prevent sharp bends in folding and refolding the parts or covers, thus adding to the life of the holder, since upon the formation of a sharp bend or fold the metal is liable to break upon opening the fold. But for the presence of the transverse ribs in the metal of the hinge portion such portion would bend upon but one line, whereas in a structure having the ribs the bending is along two substantially parallel lines, the metal between such lines constituting the end, as it were, of the box-like structure, and neither bend will ever be bent to an angle of much less than ninety degrees; but we're the hinge comprised of a bend along a single line and that bond closed up sufiiciently to allow the two sides to come sufliciently close together to produce a flat structure such bend would be at an angle of much less than ninety degrees, and the initial bending will in many instances strain the metal past the critical point, or point past which the bending will preclude a straightening of such metal and return to its flat position. Repeated bending of such a structure would break the metal, particularly so if the box had been subjected to any pressure, as would ordinarily be the case it carried in the pocket. Pressure upon the box or hinge cannot, however, in the form shown herein bend the metal along the ben(.ling-lines past the critical point. When the metal at a hinge is bent past such critical point, it of course ceases to be a hinge, and bending then only tends to break the metal.

These holders will largely be supplied to be used in the condition shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and when wanted for use will have the sides bent together, as seen in Figs. 3 and 4, and in such bending the ribs in the hinge portion control the lines along which the bend will occur and make a box having an end cor responding in height with the sides if the length of the ribs is properly proportioned.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim 1. A holder for fish-hooks embodying a pair of cover portions, each having side members,

the side members of one cover portion to overlap those of the other, and overhanging portions carried by the sides of one of the covers to retain the hooks in position when the covers are separated.

2. A holder for fish-hooks made out of sheet metal and embodying a blank bent upon itself to form cover portions having sides, and a hinge portion having a number of ribs struck up from it to impart rigidity to such hinge portion, and each of the covers having a swell portion, as 13 and 14:.

3. A. holder for fish-hooks made from a sheetmetal blank and embodying two halves one having sides and retaining overhanging portions carried by said sides and the other half having a valance to overlie the sides of the first half and also having spring-fingers to engage the said sides.

4:. A holder for fish-hooks made out of sheet metal and embodying a blank bent upon itself to form cover portions having sides, and a hinge portion having a number of ribs struck up from it to prevent the bend forminga sharp crease in the hinge portion.

Signed at Nos. 9 to 15 Murray street, New York, N. Y., this 23d day of June, 1904.

HERBERT J. FROST.

\Vitnesses:

' CHAS. LYoN RUssELL, FRED. J. DOLE. 

